The inhibitory action of four lactobacilli isolates Lactobacillus bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, L. plantarum and L. fermentum, isolated from four different samples; yoghurt, vinegar, saliva and vagina respectively, on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus adhesion to uroepithelial cells were investigated. Results showed that all Lactobacillus isolates or their supernatant were able to reduce the number of the uropathogens attached to uroepithelial cells. However, inhibition level of lactobacilli cells was higher than their supernatant. Nevertheless, the human indigenous lactobacilli (L. fermentum and L. plantarum) were more competitive than food lactobacilli (L. acidophilus and L. bulgaricus).

In this study three inorganic nano additives, namely; CaCO3, Al2O3 and SiO2 were used to prepare nanocomposites of unsaturated polyester in order to modify their mechanical properties, i.e. tensile strength, elongation, impact and hardness. The results indicated that all the three additives were effective to improve the mechanical properties up to 4% by weight. The effectiveness of them follows the order : CaCO3 > Al2O3 > SiO2 This is due to their particle size in which CaCO3 (13nm), Al2O3 (20-30nm) and SiO2 (15-20nm).

In low-latitude areas less than 10° in latitude angle, the solar radiation that goes into the solar still increases as the cover slope approaches the latitude angle. However, the amount of water that is condensed and then falls toward the solar-still basin is also increased in this case. Consequently, the solar yield still is significantly decreased, and the accuracy of the prediction method is affected. This reduction in the yield and the accuracy of the prediction method is inversely proportional to the time in which the condensed water stays on the inner side of the condensing cover without collection because more drops will fall down into the basin of the solar-still. Different numbers of scraper motions per hour (NSM), that is

The effect of considering the third dimension in mass concrete members on its cracking behavior is investigated in this study. The investigation includes thermal and structural analyses of mass concrete structures. From thermal analysis, the actual temperature distribution throughout the mass concrete body was obtained due to the generation of heat as a result of cement hydration in addition to the ambient circumstances. This was performed via solving the differential equations of heat conduction and convection using the finite element method. The finite element method was also implemented in the structural analysis adopting the concept of initial strain problem. Drying shrinkage volume changes were calculated using the procedure suggested

The effect of considering the third dimension in mass concrete members on its cracking behavior is investigated in this study. The investigation includes thermal and structural analyses of mass concrete structures. From thermal analysis, the actual temperature distribution throughout the mass concrete body was obtained due to the generation of heat as a result of cement hydration in
addition to the ambient circumstances. This was performed via solving the differential equations of heat conduction and convection using the finite element method. The finite element method was also implemented in the structural analysis adopting the concept of initial strain problem. Drying shrinkage volume changes were calculated using the procedure sug

The purpose of this study is designate quenching and tempering heat treatment by using Taguchi technique to determine optimal factors of heat treatment (austenitizing temperature, percentage of nanoparticles, type of base media, nanoparticles type and soaking time) for increasing hardness, wear rate and impact energy properties of 420 martensitic stainless steel. An (L₁₈) orthogonal array was chosen for the design of experiment. The optimum process parameters were determined by using signal-to-noise ratio (larger is better) criterion for hardness and impact energy while (Smaller is better) criterion was for the wear rate. The importance levels of process parameters that effect on hardness, wear rate and impact energy propertie

This study aims to suggest a technique for soil properties improvement of AL- Kadhimin shrine Minaret and to support the foundation, which has a tilt of roughly 80 cm from the vertical axis. The shrine of the AL- Kadhimin is made up of four minarets with two domes set in a large courtyard. The four minarets have skewed to varying degrees due to uncontrolled dewatering inside the shrine in recent years. However, the northeast minaret was the most inclined due to its proximity to the well placed inside shrine courtyard. When the well near the minaret is operated, the water level drops, increasing the effective stresses of the soil and causing differential settling of the minaret foundation. To maintain the minaret's foundation from potenti